DETECTION OF A NEW INTERSTELLAR MOLECULE, H(2)CN
Publication Date
1994
Journal or Book Title
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Abstract
We have detected a new interstellar molecule, H2CN (methylene amidogen), in the cold, dark molecular cloud TMC-1. The column density of H2CN is estimated to be approximately 1.5 x 1011 cm-2 by assuming an excitation temperature of 5 K. This column density corresponds to a fractional abundance relative to H2 of approximately 1.5 x 10-11. This value is more than three orders of magnitude less than the abundance of the related molecule HCN in TMC-1. We also report a tentative detection of H2CN in Sgr B2(N). The formation mechanism of H2CN is discussed. Our detection of the N2CN molecule may suggest the existence of a new series of carbon-chain molecules, CH2C(n)N (N = 0, 1, 2, ...).
Pages
L51-L54
Volume
427
Issue
1
Recommended Citation
OHISHI, M; MCGONAGLE, D; Irvine, William M.; YAMAMOTO, S; and SAITO, S, "DETECTION OF A NEW INTERSTELLAR MOLECULE, H(2)CN" (1994). ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL. 225.
Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/astro_faculty_pubs/225
COinS
Comments
The published version is located at http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1994ApJ...427L..51O